Hoff Barthelson Faculty Performance

Andrea SaposnikMembers of Hoff-Barthelson Music School’s Faculty take the stage to kick-off the 2023-2024 HB Artist Faculty Performance Series on Friday, October 13, 2023, at 7:30 pm in the School’s Joan Behrens Bergman Auditorium, 25 School Lane, Scarsdale, New York. The concert will feature works by Johannes Brahms, Ottorino Respighi, Franz Schubert, Anna Amalia and Carl Vine performed by some of the School's distinguished faculty members.

The program includes Brahms' Zwei Gesänge Op. 91, a set of two songs for mezzo-soprano, viola, and piano. The songs are based on poems by Friedrich Rückert and Emanuel Geibel, and express the themes of love, longing, and nature. The performers are Andrea Saposnik, mezzo-soprano; Andrew Gonzalez, viola; and guest artist Lauren Ninoshvili, piano.

Saposnik will also perform Respighi's Il Tramonto, a lyrical and dramatic setting of a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley. The poem tells the story of a young woman who dies of grief after losing her lover. The singer is accompanied by a string quartet composed of April Johnson and Laura Giannini, violins; Andrew Gonzalez, viola; and Peter Seidenberg, cello.

Schubert's Piano Trio in B flat Major No 1, Op. 99, is one of his most popular and beloved works. The trio is full of melodic richness, harmonic variety, and emotional depth. The performers are April Johnson, violin; Peter Seidenberg, cello; and Tomoko Uchino, piano.

Also on the program is a rare gem: the Sonata in F Major by Anna Amalia, Princess of Prussia. Anna Amalia was a sister of Frederick the Great and a patroness of music and arts. She composed several works for flute and keyboard, including this charming sonata that showcases her elegant style and musical taste. The performers are Donna Elaine, flute; and Tomoko Uchino, piano.

Elaine and Uchino will also perform contemporary composer Carl Vine’s Sonata for Flute and Piano. Vine is an Australian composer who is known for his eclectic and expressive music. The sonata is a virtuosic and vibrant work that explores the timbral and rhythmic possibilities of the flute and piano.

Tickets are $20 general admission and free of charge to HBMS students. Tickets may be purchased in advance via Eventbrite, by visiting the School’s website (www.hbms.org), by calling 914-723-1169, or e-mailing hb@hbms.org.

For Additional Information: 914-723-1169, hb@hbms.org, www.hbms.org.Andrew Gonzalez

About the HB Artist Faculty Concert Series

Hoff-Barthelson faculty comprises some of the nation’s most distinguished performers and educators. Many hold chairs in prominent New York orchestras, are members of world-class chamber ensembles, perform in major Broadway productions and are in international demand as solo artists. Others teach at leading conservatories including The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, and Mannes College of Music. The School’s superb faculty has contributed to the Music School’s national recognition for unsurpassed leadership in music education, performance and community service. Hoff-Barthelson prides itself on providing access to these outstanding artist-educators in the heart of Westchester. Held in Scarsdale, these concerts guarantee riveting music making of the highest caliber, in an intimate setting, at prices far below those in New York’s major concert halls.

Additional concerts in the series will be held on October 27, November 17, 2023, and February 9, March 1, and April 19, 2023.

About the Faculty Artists

In addition to serving as principal flute in the New Choral Society Orchestra and managing a busy teaching schedule, Donna Elaine is a gifted recitalist whose performances appeal to both professional musicians and newcomers to the recital medium. Not only is Miss Elaine committed to uncovering little known treasures in the repertoire, including virtuoso pieces for piccolo (even turn-of-the-century works for D-flat piccolo!), but her recitals also include illuminating commentary, as well as such entertaining touches as multi-media performances with other artists. For example, in her repertoire Miss Elaine performs a Divertissement by Kuhlau which is aurally pristine, but visually enhanced with a slide presentation of a cartoon melodrama.

Violinist Laura Giannini, at age 19, was selected by violinist Uto Ughi to perform as a soloist and member of his Festival Omaggio a Roma Orchestra. Awarded in duo and piano trio competitions throughout Europe, Laura collaborated there with Accademia dei Cameristi, A.Gi.Mus. Roma, Musica a Piazza Navona, and Deutscher Tonkünstlerverband. She has played with Semplice Players, Kollective366, The Symphony Orchestra of the Americas, Broadway Sings, The Queens Consort, and Ensemble Leonarda. With the New Britain Symphony, she was a featured performer for its virtual Music Monday series. As a chamber music enthusiast, Laura is a founding member of the OLLA Rhapsody, violin duo, and the QueensSound Ensemble, which performs vocal and instrumental music.

Hailed by the Strad Magazine for his “warm hearted playing and mellow tone,” violist Andrew Gonzalez lives a fulfilling career as both a soloist and chamber musician. As a sought-after chamber musician, his playing has allowed him to collaborate with respected ensembles such as the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Sejong Soloists, as well as members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Tokyo, Orion, Borromeo, and Vermeer quartets. In the fall of 2020, Andrew became the violist of the Jasper String Quartet. Andrew is one of the few people in the world who plays the Violoncello da Spalla, a five stringed mini cello that is played on the shoulder.

Violinist April Johnson has performed throughout the US as soloist, chamber musician and orchestral freelancer. She has appeared as concertmaster with the Jupiter Symphony and the Galatea Ensemble, the Queens Oratorio Society and the Canton Symphony of Canton, Ohio. She has also performed with the Norwalk Symphony as assistant concertmaster, and the New York Chamber Soloists, the Ridgefield, Bridgeport, New Haven, Fairfield, Harrisburg Symphony Orchestras, and the Pennsylvania Philharmonia. With her husband, cellist Peter Seidenberg and pianist Kate Boyd, she is a member of The Oracle Trio. She has recorded with Lyrichord, Dorian and Newport Classics labels.

As a professional mezzo-soprano, Andrea Saposnik has performed extensively in opera, oratorio, musical theater, and recitals, and has recorded for the Sony and Naxos labels. Her recent performances include Respighi’s Il Tramonto with string quartet in Arcidosso, Italy, and numerous solo appearances with the Long Island Choral Society, where she has also served as Artist-in-Residence. She has been a fellow at the Ravinia Festival and the Bach Aria Festival and has been a frequent collaborator with members of the Bach Aria Group. Andrea is an active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), New York Singing Teachers’ Association, The Voice Foundation, and the American Guild of Musical Artists.

Peter Seidenberg has performed in major halls throughout the US, Europe, and Asia. He made his solo debut with the Chicago Symphony, and has since appeared as soloist with many orchestras, including the Century Orchestra of Osaka, Japan, the New American Chamber Orchestra, the De Paul Chamber Orchestra, New York Chamber Soloists, and the Eastman Rochester Philharmonic. He was a founding member of the critically acclaimed Elements Quartet which created groundbreaking commissioning projects involving over thirty composers. He has collaborated with members of the Cleveland, Tokyo, Juilliard, and Emerson Quartets, and has participated in the Marlboro, Aspen, Caramoor, Casals, and Norfolk Festivals.

Tomoko Uchino has performed in recitals and concerts throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. As a soloist, she has been a top prize winner in such competitions as the Ettlingen International Piano Competition for Young Pianists in Germany and the Takahiro Sonoda Piano Award International Competition in Japan. She has also appeared in recitals, collaborating with numerous instrumentalists and vocalists in such concert halls as Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Weill Hall, Herbst Theater in San Francisco and Hamarikyu Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

For complete faculty artist biographies visit https://hbms.org/faculty/